Immediate Notice for all Providence Place Senior Living communities:

A message & update from our President and Chief Operating Officer…

6/3/20

As Governor Wolf moves PA Counties to the Yellow and Green stages of the COVID-19 reopening, we are implementing our phased plan at Providence Place Senior Living.

All of our Providence Place communities are in counties that are either Yellow or soon to be Yellow (June 5th). Although that phase has minimal changes for senior living, we are modifying some of our procedures to make life more interesting and less challenging for our residents and family members. We also want to share with you our plans for the Green Phase and the changes we anticipate when we enter that stage. Many of the Green Phase procedures will be dependent upon having no active cases of COVID-19 within the building. An infographic with the current reopening plan is attached for reference as well:

YELLOW PHASE OF COVID-19

We are encouraging and organizing “Window Visits” with Family and Friends. Please call main phone number to arrange if needed.

Unfortunately, because of the frequency of asymptomatic cases of the virus, we feel we must continue to quarantine residents who leave the campus to visit family or go to the emergency room of the hospital or other outside appointments. We wish we could avoid this but the virus has proven too contagious.

Residents on 14-day quarantine may schedule walks outside of their apartment with staff in PPE accompanying them. They should wear a mask and avoid touching surfaces unnecessarily.

We are resuming therapy in residents’ apartments.

We are organizing hallway activities and entertainment to reduce resident boredom and loneliness.

We are organizing increased daily resident walks and more frequent visits with residents by staff members.

We are not yet permitted by PA Dept of Human Services to resume group activities, in-person visits or communal dining.

GREEN PHASE OF COVID-19

We will resume socially distant activities and dining, as long as we remain COVID free in the community.

We will re-open the therapy suite and move forward with providing therapy in the therapy suites.

We intend to re-open the campus hair salon per state guidelines

We plan on resuming small group, socially distant activities and entertainment in which residents use face masks and remain at 6 ft. separation.

We plan on modifying our dining rooms and dining schedule to allow for socially distant, communal dining. Because of the need for extra sanitation and space, we will move to two seatings for each meal. Your campus will communicate the seating arrangement and schedule. A typical example for seatings may be:

Breakfast (served in apartments)

Lunch at 11am and 12:30pm

Dinner at 4:30pm and 6:00pm

Residents who leave campus to visit healthcare providers, emergency room or family will have reduced quarantine to 7-days.

At this time the PA Dept of Human Services will not permit face-to-face visits on campus, even when counties enter the GREEN phase. We believe that this may be relaxed sometime after the end of June and we are lobbying to provide an option to families for safe visits.

Once permitted, we propose resuming visits by family and friends with use of masks and social distancing. We intend to start with outside visits on the porch and then transition to inside visits as we confirm our ability to contain spread of the virus.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We are doing everything we can to engage and connect our residents & family members. Much of the above reopening details are subject to the PA Department of Human Services & PA Department of Health providing guidance and approval – please know we are working hard to voice your concerns and address the needs of everyone at Providence Place.

David & Rick

6/4/20 Update

Surveillance testing of approximately 20% of staff and residents each week is continuing at all six campuses. Here is an update as of today for each of our six campuses:

Drums (Hazleton) – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Collegeville – We identified one positive staff case this week – a staff member in our Connections neighborhood was asymptomatic positive through surveillance testing and is quarantining at home. Our entire memory unit was subsequently tested (residents & staff) and returned all negative results. Montgomery County is scheduled to move to YELLOW phase tomorrow, June 5th.

Pottsville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Pine Grove – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Dover – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Chambersburg – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

All of our communities will be in the yellow phase as of tomorrow, 6/5. Window visits (per guidelines below) are encouraged to keep connected with loved ones currently.

Our Window Visits will be allowed with the following precautions to continue to protect our residents & team members:

All parties must wear masks at all times (family members, residents & team members)

Window Visits can be scheduled directly with your loved one or please call reception to coordinate (especially for those with 2nd/3rd floor rooms or enclosed courtyard windows)

Windows may be opened, but screens must stay in tact

Please maintain social distance with participants and other families

Please use caution & courtesy in the landscaping (grass, mulch, etc)

Please limit visits to daytime hours

Care packages are still accepted and encouraged by dropping off at the front entrance (please include resident name)

We are offering more activities and one-on-one visits internally now. In addition, as your county moves to green, dining & small group activities will resume with some precautions in place as outlined in yesterday’s communications.

We appreciate all of the support family members, residents & co-workers have shown in the past few months. Our sense of community has strengthened and we are looking forward to regaining our social aspect at each campus. We are still working hard to keep everyone safe & healthy.

#ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

5/28/20 Update

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in PA in continuing a slow decline, but we are keeping an eye on data as counties move into the yellow and green phases. Currently, we have no new cases of COVID-19 within any Providence Place Senior Living community.

Surveillance testing of approximately 20% of staff and residents each week is continuing at all six campuses with no positive tests so far.

Here is an update as of today for each of our six campuses:

Drums (Hazleton) – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Luzerne County is moving into Governor Wolf’s YELLOW stage on Friday. This has very little impact on the regulations for our profession, but it will allow us to cautiously provide greater resident interaction and “Window Visits” with family. Please see details below.

Collegeville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Montgomery County is scheduled to move to YELLOW phase on June 5th.

Pottsville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Schuylkill County is moving into Governor Wolf’s YELLOW stage on Friday. This has very little impact on the regulations for our profession, but it will allow us to cautiously provide greater resident interaction and “Window Visits” with family. Please see details below.

Pine Grove – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Schuylkill County is moving into Governor Wolf’s YELLOW stage on Friday. This has very little impact on the regulations for our profession, but it will allow us to cautiously provide greater resident interaction and “Window Visits” with family. Please see details below.

Dover – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Chambersburg – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Franklin County is moving into Governor Wolf’s YELLOW stage on Friday. This has very little impact on the regulations for our profession, but it will allow us to cautiously provide greater resident interaction and “Window Visits” with family. Please see details below.

We are developing a plan to outline the internal offerings and family interaction as we move from Yellow phase to Green phase and beyond. We realize it is difficult not knowing what is to come, so we are working hard to outline what each phase looks like within and around our communities. Some of the logistics are dependent on State regulations and the Department of Health – so we hope to provide more details next week as regulations are outlined at the state level.

As your county prepares to move to the yellow phase (5/29 for Chambersburg, Pine Grove, Hazleton and Pottsville and 6/5 for Collegeville), we are preparing to shift to our yellow phase plan at Providence Place Senior Living as well. We are encouraging family and friend visits on a socially-distant basis by offering safe “Window Visits” at the community. Per state guidelines for our industry in the yellow phase, direct visits are still not permitted, but we do want family to be able to connect with loved ones after a long stretch of isolation.

Our Window Visits will be allowed with the following precautions to continue to protect our residents & team members:

All parties must wear masks at all times (family members, residents & team members)

Window Visits can be scheduled directly with your loved one or please call reception to coordinate (especially for those with 2nd/3rd floor rooms or enclosed courtyard windows)

Windows may be opened, but screens must stay in tact

Please maintain social distance with participants and other families

Please use caution & courtesy in the landscaping (grass, mulch, etc)

Please limit visits to daytime hours

Care packages are still accepted and encouraged by dropping off at the front entrance (please include resident name)

Thank you for your cooperation over the past two months – this has been a challenging time but we are getting through it together. We are excited to have more engagement for our residents, and we want to continue to do so safely.

We intend to offer more activities and one-on-one visits internally in the coming weeks. We recognize that many residents are bored, lonely and in urgent need of more social and physical activity. Our Community Life programs are working hard to outline engaging activities that can be done one-on-one and outdoors. We have asked our staff & chaplains to increase the frequency of visits to residents and encourage them to sign up for walks daily to spend at least some time out of their apartments each day. Details of these offerings will be outlined in your June newsletter.

We continue to be proud of our staff and residents at every community – they are supporting one another during this challenging time.

Please continue to stay safe.We will get through this together!#ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

5/21/20 Update

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in PA has steadied and is continuing a slow decline. Currently, we have no new cases of COVID-19 within any Providence Place Senior Living community.

Surveillance testing of approximately 20% of staff and residents each week is underway at all six campuses with no positive tests so far. Although we are thrilled to have another quiet week, we anticipate and are prepared for future cases in most, if not all, of our communities sometime during the balance of this year.

Our approach is to continue testing, quarantining and contact tracing persons with COVID symptoms and now to add surveillance testing to catch asymptomatic cases early. We will continue to communicate frequently (at least weekly) and be open and transparent with testing information. We thank all of our courageous residents and staff for helping us to “run” the rest of this marathon!

Here is an update as of today for each of our six campuses:

Drums (Hazleton) – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Collegeville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Two of our asymptomatic coworkers still tested positive for the virus after more than 25 days! They remain in quarantine at home until they either test negative or studies confirm that they are no longer contagious.

Pottsville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. All those persons who originally tested positive have recovered after quarantine and retested as negative for the virus.

Pine Grove – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Dover – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week. York County is moving into Governor Wolf’s YELLOW stage on Friday. This has very little impact on the regulations for our profession, but it will allow us to cautiously provide greater resident interaction and “Window Visits” with family. We will send additional details to Dover residents and families later today.

Chambersburg – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Formal Surveillance Testing of staff and residents is underway now at every campus to help control and contain any possible future COVID outbreaks. We plan to test 20% of our staff and of residents on a weekly basis (in addition to any symptomatic individuals). We hope this will help us to identify asymptomatic cases of the virus before it is spread to others.

We are developing a plan to restart family and friend visits on a socially-distant basis. We are working on logistics for scheduling safe “Window Visits on the Porch” to start as your county moves into the yellow phase per state guidelines. As each of our community counties shift into yellow phase, we will reach out with details of visit procedures and how to schedule your visit if necessary. We know you and your loved one can’t wait—we can’t either.

We intend to offer more activities and one-on-one visits internally in the coming weeks. We recognize that many residents are bored, lonely and in urgent need of more social and physical activity. Our Community Life programs are working hard to outline engaging activities that can be done one-on-one and outdoors. We have asked our staff & chaplains to increase the frequency of visits to residents and encourage them to sign up for walks daily to spend at least some time out of their apartments each day.

We continue to be proud of our staff and residents at every community – they are supporting one another during this challenging time.

Please continue to stay safe. We will get through this together! #ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

5/14/20 Update

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in PA has steadied and is beginning a slow decline. We are seeing a decline in the number of new cases in Providence Place as well.We are continuing to test proactively and quarantine carefully.

Here is an update as of today for each of our six campuses:

Drums (Hazleton) – Wehave had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. Sadly, one of the first residents who contracted COVID several weeks ago passed away this week after a long battle with the virus. We send our heartfelt condolences to her family. The other two positive resident cases in Drums have now recovered and have tested negative for COVID.

Collegeville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. All but two of the coworkers who tested positive have completed a 14-day quarantine, retested negative and returned to work. The two remaining coworkers are awaiting the results of their re-tests. No residents have tested positive in Collegeville.

Pottsville – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week. All those persons who originally tested positive have recovered after quarantine. All have now tested negative for the virus.

Pine Grove – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Dover – We have had no positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

Chambersburg – We have had no new positive cases of COVID-19 this week.

This week we began formal Surveillance Testing of staff and residents at every campus to help control and contain any possible future COVID outbreaks. We are testing a portion of our nursing and caregiver staff and of residents on a weekly basis (in addition to any symptomatic individuals). We hope this will help us to identify asymptomatic cases of the virus before it is spread to others. The state is beginning required weekly testing in all PA nursing homes/skilled care. As Personal Care/Assisted Living facilities, we are not yet included in these regulations, but are taking a proactive approach in doing so on our own. We may be included in their program in the future as well.

We are developing a plan to restart family and friend visits on a socially-distant basis. We are working on logistics for “Visits on the Porch” to start as your county moves into the yellow phase per state guidelines. As each of our community counties shift into yellow phase, we will reach out with details of visit procedures and how to schedule your visit. We know you and your loved one can’t wait—we can’t either.

We intend to offer more activities and one-on-one visits internally in the coming weeks. We recognize that many residents are bored, lonely and in urgent need of more social and physical activity. Our Community Life programs are working hard to outline engaging activities that can be done one-on-one and outdoors. We have asked our staff & chaplains to increase the frequency of visits to residents and encourage them to sign up for walks daily to spend at least some time out of their apartments each day. When your county shifts into the yellow phase, we will carefully resume small group activities.

As you probably realize, the COVID virus is present in the greater community around us and it is very possible that, until there is a vaccine, nearly every campus may have a resident or staff member who contracts COVID-19.We plan to remain focused on identifying potential cases and contact tracing anyone who tests positive. We will continue to monitor all staff and residents for symptoms twice daily.

We continue to be proud of our teams at every community – they are supporting residents and one another during this challenging & unprecedented time. We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to our residents & their family members – your support and patience during this difficult time has allowed us to keep everyone as safe & healthy as possible.

Please continue to stay safe.We will get through this together!#ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

5/7/20 Update

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in PA has steadied and is beginning a slow decline. We are seeing a decline in the number of new cases in Providence Place as well. We are continuing to test proactively and quarantine carefully.

Here is an update as of today for each of our six campuses:

Drums (Hazleton) – We had no new positive cases of COVID this week. Of the three positive cases among residents, two are doing very well and recovering and, unfortunately, one resident is doing poorly. No coworkers have tested positive for COVID.

Collegeville – Two of the eight coworkers who tested positive have completed a 14-day quarantine and retested negative – they have both returned to work. The six (6) others are awaiting re-test results and/or completing the 14-day quarantine. Still no residents have tested positive in Collegeville.

Pottsville – We spent the week finishing testing of all residents & coworkers at the community, following the first confirmed case on April 22. Of the 250 tests conducted, results for nearly all have been received. Initially, there were eleven (11) staff members who tested positive and six (6) residents who tested positive. All were quarantined for 14 days and retested – seven (7) staff members have recovered and tested negative so far, and all six (6) of the residents appear to have recovered and all re-tested negative. We will keep you updated of any additional/new test results.

Pine Grove – No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents.

Dover – No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents. Several residents and staff members were tested to confirm that they were negative for the virus.

Chambersburg – We had our first positive test result from a resident on April 28th. That resident has been quarantined since then and yesterday tested negative for COVID. No other residents or staff members have tested positive at Chambersburg.

Because we know that there are cases of COVID-19 that are asymptomatic, we are aggressively testing when we get any indication of a possible case. Our partner testing lab now gives us pretty quick turnaround (about 3 days), so we are able to contain and contact trace much more effectively.

This virus is present in the greater community around us and it is very possible that until there is a vaccine, nearly every campus may have a resident or staff member who contracts COVID-19.We are staying vigilant and well-prepared for that situation. We are documenting all procedures and continuing to monitor all staff and residents twice daily.

We continue to be proud of our teams at every community – they are supporting residents and one another during this challenging & unprecedented time. We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to our residents & family members – your support and patience during this difficult time has allowed us to keep everyone as safe & healthy as possible.

An early Happy Mother’s day to all moms this weekend ❤

Please continue to stay safe.We will get through this together!

#ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

4/30/20 Update:

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in PA has steadied and is beginning a very slow decline. The number of new cases in the state is dropping, but as testing increases, we will continue to see new cases. We are remaining diligent and proactive at Providence Place.

Here is an update as of today for each of our six campuses:

Drums (Hazleton) – We had one new positive cases for the virus this week. Our previous three confirmed cases among residents are doing well and coming off isolation. We have still had no positive tests among our staff. We are still aggressively quarantining and testing both residents and coworkers, when there is any indication of contact with the virus or of presence of symptoms.

Collegeville – We had eight coworkers test positive in the last week after performing swabs on all coworkers and all residents – thankfully, all of our residents at the community have returned as negative results. All team members who tested positive are quarantining at home and will only return to work after 14 days and a negative retest.

Pottsville – We spent the week testing all residents & coworkers at the community after the first case arose last week. Of 100+ tests conducted, results for about half have been received. There are currently nine (9) confirmed positive team members and six (6) confirmed positive residents. All positive cases are in quarantine either at home (coworkers) or in apartments (residents) – incidentally, all of these individuals were entirely asymptomatic. Further updates on all test results will be sent to our Pottsville contacts early next week and we are being extremely cautious in the meantime.

Pine Grove – No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents.

Dover –No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents.

Chambersburg – We had our first positive result from a resident. The resident was on isolation, so had no contact with current residents and very little contact with any team members – but testing is occurring for any potential contact just to be safe and ensure it is contained.

Because we know that there are cases of COVID-19 that are asymptomatic, we are aggressively testing when we get any indication of a possible case. Our partner testing lab now gives us pretty quick turnaround (about 3 days), so we are able to contain and contact trace much more effectively.

This virus is present in the greater community around us and it is very possible that until there is a vaccine, nearly every campus may have a resident or staff member who contracts COVID-19.We are staying vigilant and well-prepared for that situation. We are documenting all procedures and continuing to monitor all staff and residents twice daily.

We continue to be proud of our teams at every community. They are supporting residents and one another during this challenging & unprecedented time.

Please continue to stay safe.We will get through this together!

#ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

4/23/20 Update:

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in PA has peaked and is beginning a slow decline. The number of new cases in the state is expected to drop to a very low level by early May.

Here is an update as of today for each of our six communities:

Drums (Hazleton) – No new positive cases for the virus this week. Our three confirmed cases among residents seem to be doing well with symptoms subsiding. We have still had no positive tests among our staff. We are aggressively quarantining and testing both residents and coworkers, when there is any indication of contact with the virus or of presence of symptoms.

Collegeville – We had two coworkers test positive earlier this week and are now testing all coworkers and all residents on this campus. We expect to have results and an update specifically for Collegeville families tomorrow (Friday).

Pottsville – We had our first positive test of a resident today who had very minor symptoms. We have quarantined the resident and any staff with significant contact with that resident. We have begun testing of coworkers who have had even minor contact with the resident. We will also test residents who live nearby the resident who tested positive to be proactive.

Pine Grove – No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents.

Dover – No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents.

Chambersburg – No confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents.

Because we know that there are cases of COVID-19 that are asymptomatic, we are aggressively testing when we get any indication of a possible case. We have found a testing lab which now gives us pretty quick turnaround (2-3 days), so we are able to contain and contact trace much more effectively.

This virus is present in the greater community around us and it is very possible that, until there is a vaccine, nearly every campus may have a resident or staff member who contracts COVID-19.We are staying vigilant and well-prepared for that situation. We are documenting all procedures and continuing to monitor all staff and residents twice daily.

We continue to be very proud of our teams at every community. They are supporting residents and one another during this challenging & unprecedented time.

Please continue to stay safe.We will get through this together!

#ProvidencePlaceStrong

David & Rick

4/9/20

Dear Residents, Friends and Coworkers:

As you probably know, the number of cases of COVID-19 is growing rapidly in PA — we anticipate that the Commonwealth will reach a peak in new cases in the next several days.

Among all of our community locations, Hazleton has been one of the hotspots in PA. This week, a resident at our Hazleton campus has tested positive for the Coronavirus. We have five co-workers in Hazleton quarantined for 14 days because of contact with that resident. None are yet experiencing any symptoms and testing is not fully reliable until/if symptoms appear.

In the other five campuses, we have not yet had a resident or co-worker test positive. However, in nearly every campus, there are a few residents who are under strict quarantine– for either showing some symptoms or for having been out of the building and returned from the hospital for other reasons. We have been experiencing long waits (5-10 days) for testing, but that is beginning to improve now. We expect to be able to get results back in 2-3 days going forward.

As a reminder, our precautions & policies for protecting residents and team members include:

– No visitors at any community (except end of life/emergency situations)

– No group activities

– All meals being served in Apartments (Connections exceptions)

– Residents checked for symptoms and temperature twice daily.

– Staff checked at start and end of each shift for temperature or symptoms

Please continue to support your loved one through phone calls, FaceTime and Skype calls. If you need our assistance to set something up, please feel free to contact our campus.

We are doing reasonably well with Personal Protective Equipment inventory and are continuing to follow CDC guidelines to try to keep all residents and all coworkers safe.

We can assure you that our teams of coworkers have been incredibly devoted to helping residents through this challenging time. We are bursting with pride at the level of commitment to supporting residents they demonstrate every day.

We wish you and your families a Happy Easter (or Happy Passover)!

Stay home and stay safe- Thanks,

David Leader & Rick Barley

4/1/20

Residents, Friends and Co-workers of Providence Place Senior Living:

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is continuing to spread across Pennsylvania and the number of cases is increasing. We anticipate that the number of cases will continue to grow over the next 2-3 weeks. The projected peak in PA is approximately April 17th. Currently, approximately 1600 deaths are projected for our commonwealth which is tragic, but fewer than we feared a few weeks ago. Governor Wolf was quick to order people to stay-at-home, so we anticipate a far lower fatality rate than many other states due to these precautions.

Fortunately, we have not yet had a confirmed case of COVID-19in any of our Providence Place communities — and those few residents we have tested have been negative so far. We have not yet had a coworker test positive either, but we have a few coworkers quarantined because of symptoms or low grade fever. Our medical director is helping to get those that are in quarantine tested.

Just to review our policies at this stage of the pandemic:

No visitors at any community (except end of life/emergency situations)

No group activities

All meals being served in Apartments (Connections exceptions)

Residents checked for symptoms and temperature twice daily

Staff checked at start and end of each shift for temperature or symptoms

Following CDC Guidelines when limited supplies of Personal Protective Equipment

And trying to stay positive and not let the stress drive our residents (or us) bonkers…

We have moved to individual activities and individualized support for residents. Our staff is working hard to try to keep residents from feeling lonely. You can help by calling frequently and chatting with your loved one. Our phone lines are stretched to capacity by this crisis so, if you should have trouble getting through, please call back at a less busy time.

Supplies are limited, but adequate. We are awaiting some planned shipments of personal protective equipment that are expected soon at all campuses.

Staffing remains satisfactory in all of our buildings. We are so impressed with the dedication of our coworkers that we just have to tell you how proud we are of our team. Staffing may become more of a challenge in the next few weeks as the virus peaks.

We are also very grateful for the families and community members who have offered their support through volunteer opportunities, meal deliveries and outreach to our team members! We greatly appreciate your willingness to help and support everyone.

Please stay home and stay well; we are all in this together.

All the best,

David, Rick, Marianne & Gino

3/25/20

Dear Residents, Family Members and Coworkers of Providence Place:

Thank you for your patience and your assistance with our efforts to reduce the risk to residents from COVID-19. Your understanding has been greatly appreciated.

As you will recall, last week we halted all non-essential visits, resident outings and gatherings of more than ten persons. This has reduced our activity in Community Life, but our team is working hard to keep residents engaged. If you haven’t yet taken the opportunity to FaceTime or Skype with your loved one, please call our campus to make arrangements. If that sounds overwhelming, please telephone your loved one daily to keep them (and maybe you too) from going stir crazy…

We have continued to make changes and add precautions to protect residents & staff at all communities:

On Monday, March 23rd, we stopped all construction. We also dramatically reduced visits by any outside health care personnel who may have also entered other senior living buildings.

Earlier this week we offered residents the option of receiving their meals in their apartments at no additional cost. Roughly a third of our residents have taken us up on that option. Needless to say, any residents with symptoms of the coronavirus are currently isolated and required to receive all of their meals in their apartments with appropriate precautions by our staff.

In our Collegeville Community, we have required all residents (except Connections) to receive their meals in their apartments because of the elevated risk in Montgomery County.

Since we anticipate continued rapid spread of the virus, we are moving toward providing meals to all residents (except Connections) in their apartments as a precaution. We are starting with those that have chosen this option and we plan to implement for all residents by no later than Thursday (3/26) of this week. As you can imagine, the logistics are challenging so we ask you to bear with us as we try to provide good, hot meals in a timely manner.

Effective no later than Thursday (3/26), we will also be ending small group activities (currently for fewer than 10 people) and move to supporting individualized activities in apartments. We are strongly advising residents to remain in their apartments as much as possible and to only leave for rare mental health or physical health needs. If a resident leaves their apartment they must follow social distancing guidelines and appropriate health procedures.

Since last week, we have continued daily screenings of all essential health care providers and all staff for any indication of symptoms or fever. We have had a few staff quarantined at home either because of contact with a suspected case or because of the presence of symptoms. So far they have all tested negative.

We have also continued screening of residents for fevers and other symptoms on a daily basis. At this time, we do not have any residents that have tested positive for COVID-19.

Personal Protective Equipment is available at all campuses. While inventory is currently adequate, it may be in short supply relatively soon. We are working diligently to ensure we get needed deliveries in a timely way. We plan to follow the Center for Disease Control guidance, if any modifications of our PPE procedures are needed.

Generally, our staffing levels remain satisfactory. We are honored, but not surprised, by our coworkers’ dedication to caring for ”their residents”. Officially, they work for us, but they really care most about the residents they serve. We know that those who are able will continue to provide great service to you and your loved ones.

Frankly, we fear that staffing may become a challenge in the next week or two, as the numbers of cases increase among residents and likely among staff, as well. We have cross-trained managers and other members of our team in care skills so that we can draw from them, should that become necessary. We are also reaching out to nursing schools, colleges and other people who could be quickly screened and trained to provide services to our residents if needed.

If you or someone you know might be willing to help us out for a few weeks (with relatively short notice), please call the receptionist at our campus to share contact information. We are building a list of people to call and a rapid screening/training plan, in the event of a serious shortage of staff. These volunteers will be paid for their time, but should be healthy and reasonably fit, able to lift about forty pounds, and willing to do a variety of assistance tasks.

One of the most important challenges we all face in this period is dealing with the stress of this pandemic.

We encourage our staff and family members to take care of their own emotional health at this stressful time. We find our residents often deal with the stress better than we expected—they are resilient, having overcome many challenges in their lives before this. Their optimism and sense of humor has helped us to stay positive. Our staff will continue to check in frequently with residents and try to meet their emotional as well as their physical needs.

We encourage you to remain calm and positive, despite the stress; we are all in this together. If you have any questions or need to speak with someone at any of our communities – please reach out at any time. We will continue to communicate regularly, while also focusing our energy on the care & safety within our communities.

With appreciation,

David

3/14/20

As of 3/14/20, all Providence Place communities in PA are taking additional measures to prevent COVID-19 for our residents & team members.

All campuses are closed to social visitors of any kind. Only emergency healthcare providers or end-of-life visits will be admitted.

We understand the negative impact of potential social isolation to our residents, and we are encouraging family to connect using FaceTime, Skype, or telephone. We have iPads and IN2L programs at each community and will be happy to assist residents to contact you to stay in touch. In addition, please do not feel guilty for not visiting your loved ones right now. You are helping to keep our residents safe by postponing your visits to a later time. We understand the desire to keep in contact, but will ask this be done in a remote capacity to ensure their safety.

Internal activities and meals are still intact for residents.

Please call your community or email us with any & all questions – we encourage communication in uncertain times and we want to ensure everyone that these measures are being taken to prevent COVID-19 from entering any of our buildings. We have no confirmed cases in any of our communities at this time.

Dear residents, families, and co-workers,

In light of our continued close monitoring of COVID-19 and our strong pro-active focus on resident, family and co-worker safety, I’d like to update you regarding our continued preparations and changes.

Since our last update (3/6/20) regarding visitor screening, we have been logging about 150-200 visitors coming in and out of our buildings per day. We have turned away a handful of visitors with fevers and respiratory symptoms at each community using this procedure, which has been effective to date. Within the last 24 hours, we have seen some changes with regulatory guidance and suggested preparation.

Right now, we are taking a careful, measured approach to consider visitation of residents at our communities. Currently, CMS, CDC, and DOH are recommending that we discourage non-essential visitation of residents.

At Providence Place, we will be asking you to limit visitation to essential visits only. If you feel your visit is absolutely essential, we’d ask that only one person visit per resident per day between the hours of 8am-5pm. We understand the negative impact of potential social isolation to our residents, and we are encouraging family to visit using FaceTime, Skype, or telephone. We have purchased iPads for all of our communities and will be happy to assist residents to contact you to stay in touch. In addition, please do not feel guilty for not visiting your loved ones right now. You are helping to keep our residents safe by postponing your visits to a later time.

Additionally, in the last 24 hours, we have:

Postponed all external trips for residents – trips to Walmart, stores, and other venues.

Cancelled large groups entering our campuses to provide activities.

Decided to not allow pet visitation or therapy animal visitation.

Continued to train staff with a formal handwashing training, as well as stress the importance of hand hygiene.

Asked any visitors who do feel they need to make an essential visit to be screened and use alcohol-based sanitizer at the door.

Begun the process of training all Providence Place co-workers (except Dining co-workers) to be caregivers in an emergency, should our Resident Life Associates become sick and not be able to come to work until symptoms resolve.

Started the process of tracking respiratory symptoms in the building.

Continued to focus on increased cleaning at all locations.

If a resident becomes symptomatic of respiratory symptoms, we will be asking the resident to stay in their rooms until symptoms subside. We will deliver meals, make sure they stay hydrated, and care for them in their rooms, using all appropriate personal protective equipment. If a co-worker develops symptoms, we will be asking them to stay home until they symptoms have resolved.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging time. We are committed to a pro-active, safe approach to trying to prevent the Coronavirus from entering our communities. We will continue to screen all essential visitors. Together we will all get through this!

Immediate Notice for Providence Place at the Collegeville Inn:

In addition to the precautions outlined below at all of our communities state-wide, the Collegeville campus is taking additional measures due to quarantined & affected individuals in the area.

At Providence Place of Collegeville, we will be limiting visitors to essential care & healthcare providers only. Social visits will not be admitted at this time.

We understand the negative impact of potential social isolation to our residents, and we are encouraging family to visit using FaceTime, Skype, or telephone. We have iPads at the community and will be happy to assist residents to contact you to stay in touch. In addition, please do not feel guilty for not visiting your loved ones right now. You are helping to keep our residents safe by postponing your visits to a later time. We understand the desire to keep in contact, but will ask this be done in a remote capacity to ensure their safety.

Please call or email us with any and all questions – we encourage communication in uncertain times and we want to ensure everyone that these measures are being taken to prevent COVID-19 from entering the building.

I’d like to update you regarding our COVID-19 or Coronavirus preparation and prevention strategies at Providence Place Senior Living (all communities). We have implemented several procedures as recommended by the CDC & Department of Health since Monday (3/2/20).

Effective today (3/6/20), we have started monitoring ALL VISITORS for respiratory symptoms and fever, before allowing them to enter the building. We have placed signs on the main entrance asking ALL visitors to come to the Reception Desk to fill out a form that will acknowledge any respiratory symptoms or fever. Additionally, we are requiring all visitors to have their temperature checked by the Receptionist using a temporal thermometer. Any visitors with a fever of 100.4 or greater will not be able to visit until symptoms completely resolve.

If a Visitor answers any of the screening questions with a YES, then we will ask the Visitor not to enter our building at this time (unless they have been recently tested for COVID-19 and have negative results). In addition, we have placed signs on all common external entrance points to only use the main entrance to the building. All entrances that are normally open during the day are now going to be locked, except for the main entrance to the building.

Our campuses generally have Receptionist coverage from 8am-8pm (Monday-Friday) and 8am-5pm (Saturday & Sunday). After the Receptionist leaves, we are going to lock the main doors and ask that visitors use the doorbell. Once alerted of the doorbell via phone, one of our co-workers will answer the doorbell, complete the screening with the visitor and let them in if appropriate.

In addition to these measures, we have confirmed that our cleaning chemicals and wipes are the proper ones to kill the Coronavirus, and we have greatly upped our cleaning efforts of doors, doorknobs, countertops, handrails, public bathrooms and public spaces, and other common spaces that are frequently used by residents and visitors.

We are in the process of implementing a handwashing refresher training for all co-workers that instructs them to wash all surfaces of their hands with soap and water for a minimum of 1 minute, both before and after wearing gloves to assist with resident care. In addition, we have greatly increased our purchase of hand sanitizer to be available for all residents, visitors, and co-workers at multiple locations throughout the building. We also have very large quantities in stock of all necessary appropriate personal protective equipment that we will use to take care of our residents: disposable gowns, masks, and gloves, all that will be disposed in the sick resident’s room per protocol.

If a resident becomes ill with respiratory symptoms and fever, we will ask the resident to remain in his/her room until symptoms resolve. We are currently awaiting guidance regarding test kits and testing procedures for residents who display symptoms. We will be treating symptoms, bringing meals to the room utilizing disposable paper products, ensuring our residents are well-hydrated and cared for, and we will communicate frequently with families. We will also ask families to not visit at that time and may take further precautions to limit overall visitation. At that time, we would be following direct guidance us by phone or in person.

This is not meant to alarm you or spread fear, as we have no confirmed cases in our communities. It is meant to let you know that we are paying close attention to CDC & Department of Health recommendations, we are conscientious and urgent in our preparation and we will do everything we can to protect our residents, co-workers, and families.

Thank you very much for your understanding of our efforts to keep everyone safe & healthy.

A message from our Chief Operating Officer, Rick Barley, RN, BSN:

March 2, 2020

Dear Providence Place Residents, Families and Co-workers,

I want to update you on the status of our preparations for 2019 Coronavirus, officially named COVID-19. We are following the directives of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the PA Department of Health to ensure our residents, families, and co-workers receive the necessary information and preparedness regarding Coronavirus prevention and spread.

The Coronavirus is spread from person-to-person through droplets suspended in the air, very similar to how influenza spreads. The Department of Health has instructed us to follow our infection control policy and procedure for droplet precautions among residents and staff, much like we do for the Influenza Virus. The CDC is currently recommending Standard, Contact, and Airborne Precautions, when providing care for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.

The CDC does not currently recommend the general public to use facemasks. Instead, they recommend following everyday preventive actions , such as washing your hands, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, covering your cough, and staying home when you are sick. Signs and symptoms of Coronavirus include fever, cough, shortness of breath and may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

Please do not visit your loved ones in person, if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. We will advise you if we have any residents that test positive for COVID-19. There are none at present.

Due to decreases in exports from select countries, including China, India, and Taiwan, and increases in demand, manufacturers of select types of personal protective equipment (PPE) are reporting some challenges meeting order demands. Plans are already underway to surge manufacturing globally. At Providence Place, we have normal stocks of PPE, but have ordered supplemental stock of supplies of personal protective equipment to meet the likely increase in need.

We will continue to proactively work to protect our communities and closely monitor the national and local situation. Should important update information become available, we will keep everyone informed via email and in campuses.

Please feel free to reach out to your Executive Director or myself, if you have additional questions.